Endgate control for truck bodies



END GATE coNTR'oL`FoR TRpcK BODIES Filed April 29, V1941 1p1-gf 37 lfeeedvczv 1942 UNiTE-o srArlL-:s `Plriizlv-'r oFFi ce N i i i i y mandara :niza 'raucnnonms A 'l'. New, loltllnd, ONK. Appllclll All 29, 19.41, Seri!! N0. 390,986

C Claims.

(ci. zes-za) The primary object-oi this invention istoprovidea ycontrol mechanism for latching or unlatching the end gate of dump bodies on trucks,

wherein the control lever is llocated withinA the cab oi the truck.

Another eject or this control mechanism ato position the control leverwithin the cab of the truck, within reach oi the operator,- but still out of the wayoi the driver while getting in and cut of the truck.

And another object oi the invention is to provide a holding mechanism between the latches for holding the end'gate closed and the control lever within the cab oi the trucksaid control mechanism holding the latches Aof the end gate in holding position, without any auxiliary locking means within the control mechanism that has to `be manipulated by the operator of the truck. By the use of my new control mechanism, the operator of the truck may control thelatching mechanism on the end gate by simply movn ing the control lever ineither direction. without having to unlock any holding mechanism. I

A further object of my invention is to provide a control mechanism that can be so positioned on the trame oi the truck as to avoid any obstructions that may be in the way, such as battery boxes and so forth, and still bring theoperating lever within handy reach of the truck driver. d

A still -iurther object of my invention is to provide a control mechanism for operating the end 1 gate oi dump bodies from thefcab of the truck,

regardless of theangle ofy the body of 'the truck.

These and otherincidental objects will be 'apparent inthe drawing, specincations and claims. `Referring to the drawing: f Figure l is a side elevation-'oi a truck having a dump body thereon, parts broken away for convenience of illustration.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged detail view of the control mechanism in the position shown in Figure 1. i

Figure 43 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of Figure 2, illustrating the-dump body tilted at an angle, and the control mechanism having released the end'gate. In the drawing: A conventional .truck is illustrated by numeral I. having a dump body 2, pivotally mounted thereon .at I' by the iltting l, as commonly used.

ofthe dump b ody 2. The base l is mounted upon the truck frame l in any' suitable manner. The end gate 1 is pivotally mounted to the body v2 at I, and is held against the end of the body at 9,'by any of the well known forms of latchesil.

These latches are already incorporated within the body at the present time, and may take various forms of construction. Y

, My invention consists of operating latches .il b'yv a control mechanism, which I will -now describe. A cross shaft il extends transversely of the body 2 and is mounted thereto by suitable bearing supports i2, having crank arms Il i'ix edly secured to each of its ends. A connecting link Il is pivotally mounted at il to; each of the crank arms I3 at its one end, and secured to the hook III at its opposite end by being threaded into the hook at Il and lockedthereto by a locking nut l1. In this particular design of hook, an inclinedn surface Il works within the opening or guideway Il, raising the ,end of the hook 20 clear of the pin 2| when forced rearwardly, best illustrated in Figure 3. The pin 2i is xed to the end gate 1 in the usual manner. I do not wish to beflimited to any gate holding latch construction, as my control will operate any to one end of the shaft n and has its free end 23 positioned directly inline with the pivot point 3. where the body 2 is pivotally mounted tothe traine 5.. The lever 22 is maintained in this posi tion while the hooks Il are holding the gate 1 inlocked or closed position, so that when the body 2 is raised todumping position the end 23 of` the crank arm 22, will remain on the hinged center line between the body 2 and the truck frame 5, thereby in no way `ailecting the locking hooks Ill relative'to their holding position. The crank arm 22 is operated by the control lever 24,

which ,is pivotally mounted at 25 within the cab y of the truck i, in the following manner.

The iitting I is pivotally mounted to the base l 55 A connecting link 28 is pivotally secured at one end to the lower arm 21 oi the lever 24 as at 28 and a bell crank 2! is connected at 2l to the opposite end of link 2l.j The bell crank 2l is pivotally mounted at 3l to a base plate 32. which base plate may be secured to the frame l of the truck or to any other convenient location, as by welding or other suitable fastening means.

A second connecting link Il is pivotally secured to and between the bell crank 2l, as at Il, and the free end of the crank a'rm 22 as at 2 2.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the control mech i holding position, and while in this position the connecting link 331s shown below the pivot point 3| of the bell crank 29, and is prevented from going beyond the position shown by a stop 35 engaging the end 36 of the bell crank 29. Thereifore, the point 34 of the crank 29 has passed below the dead center line of the pivot point 3l relative to the connecting link 33, preventing the hooks I from pulling the connecting link 33 to the right. This is an important feature of my invention,- wherein the bell crank passes center for holding the end gate closed.l

I will now describe the operation of the unlock-` ing of the end gates. The operator pulls the lef ver 24 rearwardly, forcing the connecting link 26 forward, which will rotate the bell crank 29 in fact that the pivot point 23 of the crank arm 22 and the connecting link 33 are 'on line with the pivot point 3 of the dump body 2, it makes no diilerence'what angle the truck body may be in when the unlocking of the end gate takes place. It will be noted by observing Figure 1, that when the `end gate is locked the lever 24 is in a forward position out of the way of the'truck driver getting in or outof his cab, and When the end gate is not locked, the lever will be in the rearward position and out of the way-of the driver of the truck. 'I'his is an important feature, as in case of accident and so forth there will be no obstructions created by the lever 24. Another feature of my new and improved control mechanism is that the bell crank 29 may be positioned midway between the control lever 24 and the gate latches, shortening the length of the control rod, doing awaywith vibrations and avoiding obstructions on the truck. 'I'he bell crank and its mounting takes all of the pulling stress exerted by the end gate of the truck, and in no way transmits this stress to the operating lever 24.

I do not wish to be limited to the particular mechanical construction illustrated, as other mechanical equivalents may be used, still coming within the scope of the claims to follow.

What is claimed as new is: 1. An end gate control for dump bodies, comprising latches for holding the gate in closed position, linkage connected to' the latches vfor operating the same, a lever for operating the linkage and means to compel movement 'of the linkage in response to lever movement, said means including a pivoted bell-crank to which' the linkage and lever are connected, the linkageend of the bell-crank lever being movable from above the dead center line position of the bellcrank. to a position below such dead centerlinev position, and a lstop positioned to limit movement of the bell-crank to a predetermined position below its dead center line. the linkage when the bell crank is above its dead center line acting to move the latches to' release position, and when in a position responsive to a movement of the bell-crank below its dead center line position acting to move the latches into locking positions.

y 2. An end gate control for dump bodies, comprising latches for holding the gate in closed position, linkage connected to th'e latches for operating the same, a'pivoted bell crank to one arm of which the forward end of the linkage is connected, a manually operable lever connected to the remaining arm of the bell crank for operating the linkage in the movement of the lever, the lever moving the linkage-connected end of the bell-crank from a point above to a point below the dead center line of such bell crank in the ends 20 of the hooks l0 so as to clear the holding pins 2| of the end gate 1. Due to the closing the latches, and a stop for the bell crank to limit the linkage connected end thereof to such' below dead center-line position.

3. A construction as defined in claim 2 including an intermediate bell crank to which the linkage is connected, said intermediate bell crank being carried by and movable with the dump body.

4. A construction as definedv in claim 2 including means for moving the latch with respect to its keeper in the movement of the linkage.

5. An end gate control for dump bodies of dump wagons comprising a latch, a keeper on the gate to be engaged by the latch to hold the gate in closed position relative to the body, a bell crank supported on and movable with the body, a connection between said bell crank and the latch', a second bell crank pivotally mounted on the frame of the dump Wagon, a rst link connectlng said bell cranks, means for limiting movement of the first-link connected end of the second bell-crank to a predetermined below dead center line position in a latch-closing operation, a manually operable lever, and a second link between said lever and said second bell crank, the connection of the second link and second bell crank moving the forward end of said ilrst link below the pivot of the second bell crank when said second bell crank is in limited position.

6. An end gate control for dump truck bodies, comprising a hand control lever for controlling the latch for holding the end gate closed, a. locking mechanism between the hand control lever and the end gate latches, said locking mechanism comprising a. pivotally mounted bell crank rotatably secured to the frame of the truck, a connecting link connecting one of the arms of the bell crank to thehand control lever, a connecting link connecting the end gate holding latches to the other arm of the bell crank, the connecting link between the end gate latches and the bell crank passing below the Apivot point of the bell crank while in holding position, and a stop enrgaged by the bell crank when in such below-thepivot-point position,

EDWARD T. Nnwnnr..v 

